


Cruel Irony

by Eleanorose123



Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, Gen, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-06-06 15:59:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6760600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eleanorose123/pseuds/Eleanorose123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The battle for the Omega Lock led to unforeseen losses. But how does one process the loss of a life they've tried to take so many countless times before?</p>
<p>Deadlock Alternate Ending fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cruel Irony

In Earth’s atmosphere, unbeknownst to the planet’s inhabitants, perhaps one of the greatest battles in Cybertron history ensued.

The Autobots, with help from their captive medic, had stormed the Decepticon warship with the determination to put an end to the war that ravaged their lives. The attacks were ruthless, neither side wanting to go down without a fight. It was truly a now or never battle, with their home planet’s restoration, and human kind’s very existence on the line.

At the core of the battle, where the very future was a touch of a button from activation, each factions’ leaders and determined soldiers went at it, mercy long forgotten. Ratchet struggled greatly to keep Shockwave from activating the Omega Lock, and Arcee and her team could only hold off the seekers for so long. Her struggles with the Air Commander Starscream led them both to fall upon the very battlefield their leaders fought on. The Omega Lock itself.

Only irony could describe the situation unfolding before them; the very two mechs that brought Cybertron’s downfall fighting their last stand on the very device that could save their beloved home world.

Neither Optimus or Megatron gave an inch. With every strike and beating, their resolve to win their centuries long feud grew stronger. Optimus’ resolve to protect Earth’s inhabitants kept him standing, and landed many strong blows against the once mighty gladiator, but with his wings crippled, and the Dark Star Sabre in his enemies’ hands, Megatron still had tactical advantage. If it were any other circumstance, they knew this fight would carry on for another day.

But with the risks so high, deep in their sparks they knew this would truly be their last stand. As did their followers, who continued to battle around them.

“Smokescreen!” Arcee called out to her comrade. “Now might be a good time to do that thing you were planning on doing-!” She was cut off by a talon swipe across her face plates to which she responded with an enraged yell and tackled Starscream to the ground.

“I would be right on that-!” The soldier shot down a seeker by the shoulder plates. “If I hadn’t been so preoccupied!”

Fumbling around with the original Star Sabre, Smokescreen found it difficult to fight and hold onto the heavy blade. But he knew he had to do everything in his power to help Optimus even the odds to their favor. With a brief check on his leader’s battle (not showing even the slightest of leads) Smokescreen knew he had to deliver the weapon and fast. He could not account for one of the seeker’s blasts knocking said weapon out of his hands however, as it fell behind him and skidded across the battlefield.

Everyone on the upper level seemed to freeze mid battle; the same goal and ambition in mind without speaking a word. Shockwave had tossed Ratchet against a wall like he was nothing, and charged towards the blade, as did the seeker troops. Smokescreen and Bumblebee made a joint effort to take down the opposition, the young scout obtaining a boost from his friend to launch himself ahead of the ‘Cons as Smokescreen struck down the drones one by one. Leaving Bumblebee to face Shockwave before either could obtain their goal.

“Your efforts are meaningless,” Shockwave spoke in his monotone voice, as he blocked the young scout’s hand to hand combat. “Regardless of your futile attempts to delay the evitable, the Decepticons will have this day, as well as this planet.”

Bumblebee made several enraged chirps and beeps, as his attacks aimed for the tank’s weak spots. Several attacks to the sides, and centered firing to the legs, Bumblebee managed to bring Shockwave crashing down. The scientist fired several shots, but was ultimately blinded by a punch that left his optic shattered and offline. As he attempted to regain himself, Bumblebee got what he came for and made haste to the side of the ship. He called out to Arcee for confirmation of his goal.

“Do it, Bee! Optimus needs you!” She stumbled backwards from a hit to her side. Arcee focused all her attention back to fighting Starscream as she called out to her teammate. “We’ve got everyone else, this is up to you!”

“You got everyone else, you say?” The seeker laughed coldly as he struggled to weaken the two wheeler. “How pathetically optimistic of you. To think you’d win when we’ve come so far! You’re as dim-witted as your former partner!”

“Get. Fragged!”

Turning away from them, and accounting for the wellbeing of Smokescreen and Ratchet, Bumblebee gave out a warning to Optimus, who was in still in the midst of a close ranged fight with Megatron. With a brief nod to his scout, Optimus struck back Megatron as best he could to get some distance between them, and ran to where Bumblebee was climbing down the Omega Lock’s side pillars.

The Decepticon warlord took notice of the plan unfolding before him and gave a yell. Not wanting to even give the Autobots the opportunity to use their mightiest weapon against him, Megatron took aim of his fusion cannon. For only a brief second did he decide to move his aim from the back of Optimus Prime, to a target that he knew would deal a far greater blow to both Optimus, and the Autobots as a whole.

Three shots of his cannon that went right through the scout’s torso.

It felt as though every Autobot’s spark died as they watched in horror while Bumblebee’s corpse fell. Smokescreen’s cries could be heard from above, and Arcee only went numb. She was still entangled in her own struggling fight that paused only for the Decepticon to enjoy the show. But for Optimus, it had felt like everything around him had gone dark. Reaching out in an effort to grab his dear scout’s servo, he could only let Bumblebee’s darkened body plummet into the Omega Lock’s waters, the Star Sabre forgotten, and only sorrow remaining.

All fell silent until twisted laughter came from the warlord and his second in command.

“Another one of your soldiers has fallen, Optimus…shall you be the next to join them?”

Optimus shook with rage. Rage for the cruelty, the countless battles and sacrifices made in this war, and rage towards the mech he once so dearly called friend. There had been many times he had shown mercy to Megatron, many times in which a part of his spark begged for his old friend to return to him through kindness, but now, at this very moment, all the good he had hoped to bring was dead and gone.

“If any more shall fall on this day, then I swear on the Allspark, it shall be you!”

Wasting no time, Optimus charged forward, and Megatron prepared to block. Several punches left the Decepticon dazed, but otherwise standing, and despite getting a few good hits to the face, Optimus refused to give an inch. The Autobot managed to strike Megatron down to the floor, and wanted to go end it all at that moment, but in an instant of blinding rage, he had failed to notice the fallen Dark Star Sabre nearby. With a mighty swing from Megatron, Optimus fell backwards from the impact and was forced to cling to the side of the Omega Lock.

From across the battlefield, Starscream attempted to approach the fight, wanting to assist in the Prime’s demise in the same fashion he did in aiding Predaking’s defeat earlier. Pushing Arcee away from him to the best of his abilities, the femme caught on to his ambitions and took it upon herself to keep Starscream where he stood. Dealing a few kicks to his lower sides, she encouraged his legs to fall and lose balance. From the corner of her optic however, she saw movement in the Omega Lock’s waters and both Starscream and herself froze at the sight.

Emerging from the mystical force, Bumblebee held the mighty Star Sabre in hand, his gaze locked at the battle between the two leaders, with one clear intention in mind. To end the tyranny of the one who had tried to end him.

Anyone could feel the intense emotions radiating at that very moment, and everyone could see just what the scout was planning, as he lifted the blade up above him to bring down upon the cruel mech turned away from him. Ending the evil. Ending the Decepticons with this one strike.

“Megatron-!”

“Master, _no_!”

The blade struck down, but it had missed its intended target.

Autobot and Decepticon alike watched intently as Starscream had pushed his leader to one side, and as a result, had the Star Sabre stab through his back and through his spark. The seeker could only let out a meek gasp as he stared down at the blade protruding from his torso. It seemed even Bumblebee was stunned by the action, ending the life of a different threat than the one he had hoped for.

Starscream coughed up energon, feeling his life force fade away from him all at once. So many times had he feared his untimely end, but now that it had happened, fear grew absent from his mind. Everything was numb, and everything was going dark. He couldn’t even process if he had attempted to remove the blade from his body or if he just allowed his demise to occur on its own. The fact of the matter was simple; Starscream had died saving the one he had tried to kill so many times before.

What cruel irony it was.

Noticing a slack in the Decepticon’s frame, Bumblebee extracted the energon coated sword with a swift motion. He felt no remorse, Starscream had done too many crimes to count and his death was not a tragedy to all the lives he had ruined. But Bumblebee never got to see the air commander’s body fall like he had. In fact, he was quite shocked to witness the corpse be grabbed and brought away from the Omega Lock’s edge by the very same mech he had intended to kill.

Megatron said not a word, made no effort to attack or defend himself in front of the revived scout. He didn’t even care that in the chaos, Arcee was already helping Optimus climb back up to even ground. As he stared at Starscream’s limp frame, Megatron felt like he would never care again.

There were so many things he wanted to scream at Starscream for; “Are you a fool?” and “How dare you involve yourself like this!” particularly came to mind. But every time his gaze went back to the once intense optics of his lieutenant, all those insults and screams went silent in his mind. The harsh reality being that even if he did say those words out loud, there would be no response, no rebuttal or half-apology. There wouldn’t be anything to gain, and there would be nothing to gain ever again.

He had lost Starscream. Forever.

This should’ve been different. All those times he had threatened the seeker’s life, and all the times he had come close to personally extinguishing his spark with his own servos, they were all for reasons he should’ve died. Starscream should’ve died for his disloyalty, his cowardice; ultimately, he should’ve perished the day he first attempted to over throw Megatron for control of the Decepticons.

How dare he die for an actually honorable cause.

What gave this mech the right to make Megatron feel like his whole world had crashed down around him? What did Starscream ever do that could make his leader ignore all ambition and pride and just ignore his lifelong enemy stare down at him with sympathetic optics? How did the second in command ever make a place in Megatron’s spark that would lead to his corpse be cradled closely to the gladiator’s frame?

The silent embrace being the closest contact the two ever had with each other in their lifetimes of knowing one another. It only took the sacrifice of one spark to have Megatron realize just how much that spark truly meant to him.

What cruel irony indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> EXPLANATION TIME! So, my parents finished watching Transformers: Prime recently making me hop aboard the feels train once again (it never gets easier). That, along with this thought that I've had since I first watched the finale, made me sit down to write out this alternate ending in which Starscream takes Megatron's place. 
> 
> It's a debate for sure, but I always thought that this type of ending would've rounded out both characters in a way. Starscream's development throughout the series has always been a highlight and the fact that he openly mourned Megatron's death really told a lot. Sacrificing himself, intentionally or otherwise would've been an interesting route to take. I'm not sure the writers should've gone that direction, but it's still a fun ending to explore none the less. (especially if you imagine something like Dark Energon coming into play to bring Starscream back, haha)
> 
> Thanks for reading this AU thought I've had for quite some time!


End file.
